Of Grims and Open Hands
by LJ Fan
Summary: Parvati and Lavender's PoV of what happened at Hogwarts during DH. Full summary inside. DH spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This story is based loosely off my RP site, On Their Own. Link is on my profile. I own one character. Yeah, that's it. Everyone else is owned by JKR or the site members. The characters I use from the site are with permission and with JKR, well, not so much. It's her world, I'm just wasting some time in it. The entire story will take place from either the perspective of Parvati or Lavender.

**Summary:** Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown have been best friends since their train ride to Hogwarts. Their first six years at school have been marked with odd happenings, explosions, and, of course, cute boys. While they should be worrying about the impending N.E.W.T.'s, other things keep interfering. Carrows, disappearing students and the return of the D.A. make it a year where everyone is praying to come out alive. DH spoilers.

Of Grims and Open Hands 

**Boarding and Bewilderment**

Parvati was miserable. No, miserable did not even begin to describe it. She was absolutely devastated. Her final year at Hogwarts should have been one of joy, and yet, it seemed to only be filled with gloom so far. Her beloved headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had died last year. Well, he was not her beloved headmaster. She doubted he could have even told the Patil twins apart, since Parvati certainly never spoke with him. Padma probably did only because prefects tended to do that. Even so, Parvati always felt safe around him. He had a great smile that almost made up for his terrible sense of fashion. It had taken Parvati a few years, but she finally decided he only wore silly colours like purple because he was trying to be neutral to all houses and most colours were already taken.

Now she would never see his amusing dress wear ever again. Parvati had attended the funeral last year out of respect, and by the end of it, she had been sobbing. Rita Skeeter seemed to think otherwise about her deceased headmaster. Other than the few mistakes Parvati discovered in Skeeter's articles about Harry, she always felt the journalist had a good head on her shoulders. Parvati, of course, did not believe a word about Harry murdering their headmaster, that was just a rumour. His family lines, however, was an ink jar of a different colour. Maybe there were some secrets about Headmaster Dumbledore that no one seemed to know, but even still, Parvati would miss him.

The next problem that troubled Parvati was that she had almost not returned to Hogwarts! Her parents who never were that overprotective before, suddenly decided she and Padma had to stay home. There had been more tears shed when her father announced his decision. Luckily, Padma, the ever clever girl, told their father that they were 17 and could thus make their own choices in life. Bhanu, the girls' father, had tried to use their age against them and said if they wanted to attend Hogwarts, they would have to find another place to live. In the end, Shanta, their mother, smoothed all of the problems. Parvati and Padma were going to attend Hogwarts for one more final year. If anything major or drastic happened, they were to come home immediately, since they were still allowed to live at home. If either girl wanted to come home on their own, they would be welcomed with open arms. Parvati wanted to tell her parents that the likelihood of her returning to her household of her own free will was highly unlikely.

Finally, Parvati was currently most focused on her lack of a train buddy. There had never been a year Parvati sat alone in a compartment. On her first year, Parvati sat with Padma. Every train ride since then, Parvati sat with Lavender, and they were sometimes accompanied by Padma. Fifth year, Padma became the prefect for Ravenclaw, so she no longer joined the train ride for the beginning of the year. Parvati knew this year would be different though, because she was very intelligent for a Gryffindor. The Muggle-Born Registry forced all muggleborns to register (hence the name) their bloodline, in order to punish those who had 'stolen magic.' What rubbish. Parvati doubted even The Quibbler would print that nonsense. However, Parvati also knew that Hermione was very much muggleborn and if the Ministry truly had fallen like so many had said, then if she registered, she would either be tortured for information for the whereabouts of Harry or killed. Even though the girls never got along well, Parvati would never want her in pain. There were many nights Parvati considered writing her to tell her to be careful, but then she figured Hermione already knew to do so. To remain safe, Hermione would have to flee the country in order to avoid the registry. In other words, it was extremely likely Hermione would not be returning to Hogwarts this year.

During the summer, near the very end, the Patil twins received their letters. When Padma did not receive the Head Girl badge, she figured Hermione would have received it, until she used her intelligence, in addition to Padma's, to decide neither girl was going to be Head Girl. About a week or so later, Parvati realized that if she did not receive the prefect badge for Gryffindor, Lavender must have. Parvati was not jealous in the slightest, of course, but it did mean she was going to be lonely on the train until Lavender finished her prefect meeting. With all of the new procedures Parvati supposed were going to take place, she figured she would be lucky if she saw Lavender at all.

As tradition, though their father was still a bit sore from their decisions, the four Patils entered the platform together, though as inconspicuous as possible. Parvati searched around desperately for someone with whom she could sit until her eyes fell upon the very familiar Lavender Brown. Muffling her squeal of excitement, Parvati kissed her mother and father on the cheek quickly, hurridly said goodbye, deserted her sister, and magicked her trunk to follow her as she tried not to lose Lavender in the crowd. Upon reaching her, Parvati stopped dead in her tracks, which unfortunately caused her trunk to run into her before also following immobile.

"Lav!**"** Parvati shrieked, ignoring the pain in her ankles. The girls had communicated very often over the summer, but it was so much different seeing her.

Lavender turned around at the familiar sound of her friend shrieking her nickname. The two hugged tightly. They had barely let go when the two began to talk at the same time, drowning each other out:

"You look great!"

"You didn't tell me you got your hair cut!"

"I'm sorry I took so long to return your owl --"

"I'm so glad your parents let you come back, I--"

"And then Padma had to tell all of her friends the news--"

"Had to fight with my mother to come--"

"Congratulations though!"

"Congratulations though!"

The girls stopped talking when they realized they said the same thing. Laughing, Parvati opened her mouth quickly to ask, "Why are you congratulating me for? And why didn't you tell me you got prefect?"

Lavender looked at her friend with a slightly confused look on her face, "I didn't get prefect, you did. I'm sure Padma was surprised. Both of you prefects together? You'll have lots of time to hang out." Lavender finished, replacing the confused look with a slightly jealous one that did not go unnoticed by Parvati.

Parvati was more concerned about the prefect status however, "No, I didn't get it. But if you didn't get it and I didn't get it," Parvati trailed off her sentence, as she began to register what was happening. Lavender noticed at the same time for the girls shouted, "Hermione!" together.

Lavender was the first with a plan, "Let's put our stuff down and then look for her. She couldn't have come back. She should be in hiding." Turning in every direction, she looked for the messy brown hair she had tried so many times to tame without luck.

Parvati nodded and led the way, trying to squeeze between the other friends who had found each other after the entire summer. Though she heard someone shout a greeting to her and Lavender, Parvati ignored all other people until she finally entered an empty compartment. Parvati always liked coming early so she would not have to sit with people she found annoying or odd. After stowing her trunk in the basket and hearing the _thunk_ which meant Lavender did also, Parvati wondered what they could do. Could they really convince Hermione to leave? What if Harry and Ron were here also? Parvati just assumed they would all go in hiding, except for maybe Ron. Looking back at her best friend, Parvati hoped Ron would not return, just so there would not have to be the constant tears from Lavender. Ron had broken her heart, but hopefully the summer did enough to fix it.

"Ready?" Parvati asked. Lavender nodded and the two girls began the search around the train. Once again, there had been a few people who called out their names in greeting, though they waved only and continued their search. Parvati knew that even though they still had about 15 minutes for people to arrive, the gaggle of people on the train was much thinner than last year. There were not even that many people on the platform, delaying until the very last minute, to enjoy the last bit of summer. It seemed that a lot of people had decided returning to Hogwarts this year was a bad idea.

Though the girls saw a few Slytherins upon their travels, they remained lucky to not have any problems until the very last compartment. Sitting in the very back were Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. When the foursome saw Parvati and Lavender, their conversation stopped immediately. Parvati just could not understand why obviously evil Slytherins like them were not chucked out and forced to fend for themselves.

"And here I thought all the Gryffindors would stay home in fear," said Tracey with a sneer.

"Oh, no, they're too _brave_, or if you ask me, stupid to realize they should have stayed home," replied Millicent.

Parvati and Lavender rolled their eyes simultaneously and left the compartment. Part of Parvati was worried about what they said. What was really going to happen? Maybe her parents were right; maybe they should have never returned to Hogwarts. Yet Parvati did not regret her decision in the slightest, "Let's just go back to our seats. We can wait there for a while until the train starts moving, then we'll look again for her."

"Great!" said Lavender cheerfully, though Parvati could tell it was forced.

Their walk back to the compartment was silent and it was not until they closed the door and checked to make sure no one had decided to join them that they finally began to talk normally.

Lavender sat back on the seat, propping her feet on the other seat, next to Parvati, "So how was your summer? Did Padma get Head Girl? Did you have any summer romances?"

Parvati knew Lavender knew the answers to all of these questions, but it was good to be able to speak their minds and not worry about whether someone would read their mail, "I've had better. My dad was being such a pain. He almost wouldn't let me go back over the summer to take our exams. I told him that if he wanted me to not live under his roof for the rest of my life, I would have to take my Potions O.W.L. Then he told me I should have studied harder fifth year if I wanted to be in the Potions class, well, _sorry_. He just did not understand because he didn't have Snape when he was in school. If he did, he would have realized why I did not want to have him again in N.E.W.T. level."

After the battle near the end of the year when Dumbledore was killed, Parvati spent most of her time in the Hospital Wing, not because she was injured, but because she wanted to help those who were. There she had decided that instead of designing dress robes like she had wanted for so many years, she wanted to be a Healer. Madam Pomfrey had talked to Professor McGonagall over the summer, enabling Parvati to re-take her Potions test, which she had failed the last time. She received an E the second time and sent a letter to Professor Slughorn, asking if she could be in his N.E.W.T. class so she could fulfill her dreams. After a lot of correspondence, it was decided she would take the sixth year class and work with Professor Slughorn on seventh year level potions to catch up.

"As for Head Girl," Parvati continued, "No, Padma didn't get it. She wasn't happy, but not really surprised, because we all figured Hermione would get it," The words had come naturally, yet she regretted them one she said it. Hermione could not have come back. There was no way, "And no summer romances either," she said quickly, "What did you do this summer?"

Lavender shrugged, stretching slightly, "Nothing all that exciting. My mother and I got into a few arguments because she wanted me to take more classes this year and I told her there was no way because I want to enjoy my last year here, not take classes I don't need. She wants me to get a Ministry of Magic position and I just have no desire to do so."

Parvati pulled the latest copy of Witch Weekly from her purse and switched sides so Lavender could see the magazine as well. They began to talk about the latest tips, stopping only for a moment when the train started moving. The two looked at each other, both silently wondering if Hermione was aboard the train. Parvati was the first to look away, back at the magazine, and so they continued reading for a few minutes.

The cart lady walked by their compartment, knocking, and asking if they wanted anything to eat. Parvati was too busy re-packing for the third time to eat, so she bought a few Cauldron Cakes and a Pumpkin Juice. Lavender bought some snacks as well, so they set aside the magazine to enjoy the food. When they both finished, Parvati asked, "Do you want to look for Hermione now?"

Lavender shook her head, "I was thinking. Since the train's already moving, we really can't do anything to help her. I think we should just wait until we get to the castle, then we'll see her at the table, if she's there. Because if we can't do anything on the train, no one else can do anything to her either, right? People just don't disappear off trains, after all."

Parvati could not argue with this logic, so she happily agreed, "Alright! I brought my Tarot Cards in my purse, want to do each other's futures?" Professor Trelawney always told them they had to practice if they wanted to perfect the Inner Eye.

"Okay! I'll do you first," Lavender said. Parvati handed her the cards and Lavender began to shuffle them carefully, not wanting to do anything wrong.

The girls spent the rest of the train ride predicting each other's future, which seemed to grow worse which each turn. However, Lavender and Parvati knew there was a war going on, and of course the cards were going to reflect something negative because of it.

As Hogsmeade station came into view and the train began to slow, the girls panicked, since they had forgotten to change into their robes. Not wanting to be late for the feast, they changed from their muggle clothes into the Gryffindor robes and fixed their hair and makeup. When they finally deemed themselves to look presentable, Parvati opened the compartment door.

"Ready?" She asked Lavender.

"Ready," Lavender replied.

**Author's Note:** End chapter one. This was really difficult for me since I'm not used to writing fanfiction anymore, so I would really appreciate comments and constructive criticism. My goal is to update once a week, maybe more often if I feel inspired. Reviews always help to make me more inspired. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** A big, huge thanks to my reviewers: Effrijim, hondagirl and StarWars-Freak . You guys are awesome! Sorry for the wait for this chapter. I hope it's worth it!

Of Grims and Open Hands

**Rules and Remembrances**

Lavender stepped off the horseless carriage, which actually were drawn by invisible thestrals that were extremely bad luck, leading the group into the Great Hall. Parvati was just a step behind her, talking about her predictions for future couples. Her sister, Padma, and her sister's best friend, Mandy Brocklehurst, were right behind Parvati, discussing the upcoming lessons in their classes. Lavender rolled her eyes at their stereotypical Ravenclaw nature. She thought it was much more interesting to discuss if Wayne Hopkins, a Hufflepuff boy in their year, would finally ask out Susan Bones. Lavender voted no, but Parvati believed he would finally have the courage.

Entering the Great Hall, Lavender strode right to the Gryffindor table which looked extremely empty. She and Parvati said quick goodbyes to Padma and Mandy before looking for seats. The only other two people in their year that were sitting at the table were Neville and Seamus, who were deep in conversation. Lavender refused to sit anywhere near Seamus ever since the two had fought in the beginning of sixth year. He had suggested she take more classes, sounding just like her mother, which led to a terrible row. She still had not forgiven him, nor had he asked her to.

Further down the table sat sixth year Madison Staunton. Lavender and Parvati had always been friends with the girl, who was very much like them. More than once, Lavender wished Madison and Hermione could switch dorms. She had never suggested it because it would probably offend Hermione. Now she would give her crystal ball just to know she was safe. Not wanting to dwell on her negative thoughts, she sat across from Madison as Parvati sat next to Lavender. The three had just begun to chat amiably when the doors opened to reveal Professor McGonagall, leading the nervous looking first years. Once again, Lavender could not help but notice the lack of students in the cluster.

Lavender was about to ask Parvati what she thought happened to the first year muggleborns, if they were even told about their magical abilities or just deceived to think they were normal, when Professor McGonagall loudly called out, "Adams, Mary!" Whispering quickly went around the four house tables. Had their ever been a year the Sorting Had did not sing a song about personality quirks of the houses? Lavender knew that there had always been one while she attended. She never listened, preferring to write notes or eye some cute boy. While everyone talked amongst themselves for a moment, Lavender looked at the Head Table where sat Professor Snape in the headmaster spot. She had assumed Professor McGonagall would have received the position, but apparently not. Looking quite comfortable, Professor Snape smirked, not seeming the least bit bothered that students were talking all around him.

Just as she began to look at the new professors, the Sorting Hat finally shouted, "Hufflepuff!" A hush fell upon the student body as the Sorting continued. Lavender did not bother to watch the Sorting, since she did not plan to associate with first years anytime soon. She continued to look at the two new professors beside Professor Snape. On his left was a short man who could afford to lose a few pounds. He was squinting at the students, looking at each of them cruelly. When his gaze fell upon Lavender, she quickly looked away at the female professor on Professor Snape's right. She, too, was shorter and bulkier. Her face seemed quite bloated. She was glaring at her plate, as though she blamed it for her lack of food. Rolling her eyes, Lavender turned back to the Sorting, wondering just what they were going to teach.

"Hochgertel, Daniel!" Professor McGonagall called in her intimidating voice. The boy scurried to the Sorting Hat and sat for a moment before it fell down his face. Lavender always wondered why they just did not get a new hat. It was too big to fit any first year. It was also extremely dusty and gross. Well, no wonder, it was the hat of Godric Gryffindor, who lived over a thousand years ago. Wasn't it a time for change? How hard could it possibly be to enchant a hat to Sort students? Lavender had seemed some extremely magical things done with make-up; she believed a wand could do anything.

Despite the smaller number, Lavender felt herself grow extremely bored. She was looking around the table again when she realized she had forgotten about Hermione. Up and down the table she searching, trying to find the mess of brown curls to no avail. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lavender leaned over to Parvati and whispered, "Hermione's not here." By the look on her face as she scanned the tables, Parvati, too, had forgotten.

When Parvati could also not find Hermione, she whispered back, "What about prefect?" There were only three girls in their dorm. If the prefect left, only two girls remained who would be able to be given the status. Lavender shrugged, clapping politely as "Yarnell, Robert" became a Gryffindor. She watched Professor McGonagall roll up the scroll, thanking Merlin the Sorting was finally complete. The snacks she had bought on the train seemed so long ago.

Suddenly, Professor Snape stood from his seat. Lavender was reminded of the many times Headmaster Dumbledore had done the same. The biggest difference between the two was that Headmaster Dumbledore had always seemed so inviting. He had a smile on his face that said there was no other place he would rather be than at Hogwarts, which Lavender thought was just sad. There were hundreds of places she would rather be. Yet with Professor Snape, he just stood, with his dark eyes looking at every house in turn, looking for trouble.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Snape started in a tone of voice that conveyed how welcome the students were. Lavender heard some of her fellow Gryffindors booing. He quickly quieted them with a glare, "You should all be overjoyed at the opportunity to be here. You will be part of a new world order, the students who are in this hall tonight represent those who have not stolen their magic from real witches and wizards." Lavender rolled her eyes. She was so sick of hearing about muggleborns stealing magic. How could babies steal magic? Oh, sure, Harry had defeated You-Know-Who as a baby, but he had magic to begin with. This was different.

"I would like to introduce you to our two newest professors," Snape continued. Lavender listened attentively. She was continuing with Defense Against the Dark Arts, so it was important to know who the professor would be this year, as Professor Snape was obviously not continuing. "Professor Amycus Carrow is going to be teaching all of you Dark Arts, and Professor Alecto Carrow will be teaching you Muggle Studies. You will have noted that these courses are now mandatory for every Hogwarts student. You will attend these new classes and you will show your new professors the respect that is due to them." Lavender's jaw dropped. She had heard people do this when they were very surprised, but she had never actually done it herself. Yet now she found herself with an open mouth, ready to yell in protest. It seemed she would not have to, however, since many of the students were already expressing their indignation. Lavender was not sure about what she was angrier: that she would be taking Dark Arts, rather than Defense Against the Dark Arts, or that she was forced to take Muggle Studies. She probably knew more about muggles than that stupid lady next to him, and she had never even met one.

"As always, there are rules that you are expected to follow while at Hogwarts. The Forbidden Forest is off limits at all times. All students must be indoors before sunset and in their common rooms before seven in the evening. This includes all upper level students. Hogsmeade weekends are cancelled until further notice. All organizations opposing the Dark Lord," Snape's eyes swept over Lavender, as well as other Gryffindor students. Rather than be filled with fear, she had the oddest sensation that she wanted to laugh, "will not be tolerated. You will do well to follow these rules as both Professor Carrows have kindly agreed to take over all disciplinary actions with the help of Mr. Filch. All professors, prefects and heads of houses are to refer disciplinary problems to the Carrows."

Lavender could not believe they would have detentions with the Carrows. By the delighted look on Snape's face, it was obviously not good. They would probably have to pickle toads or something equally disgusting. Unfortunately, the rules were not over yet, "It will be noted that Gryffindor prefects are suspended until further notice." More cries of anger came from Gryffindor table, Lavender among them. So that was why neither she nor Parvati received the badge! Snape raised his voice further to talk over the Gryffindorrs, "As they have proved time and time again that they can not be trusted to monitor their peers appropriately. The other houses will note that if the Carrows feel the prefects are not doing their jobs properly, their prefects will also be suspended. That is all, for now. " Lavender watched him sit, anger coursing through her veins. Her hunger had long since disappeared. This was going to be a horrible year.

The food finally appeared on Lavender's plate, yet she ignored it. She cared much more about the gossip. It seemed like all around her, at every table, students were doing the same. She could barely hear herself speak as she complained to Parvati and Madison, "They're making us take Muggle Studies and Dark Arts! I cannot believe this!" She was ready to complain for a while, but Parvati cut in. Her eyes were wide with worry.

"You can't? Imagine me! I'm already taking too many classes for the Healer program. Now they're loading even more on!" At once, Lavender felt bad for complaining. Parvati had already told her she would need Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology for the program. She was also, of course, taking Divination, since that would be useful. Now with Muggle Studies, she would definitely have a full load.

Lost in their thoughts, they began to eat their meal silently. Conversations were still heavy around them, yet Lavender felt she had no more to say. It was obvious what she wanted to say. She was sure everyone who was not a Slytherin felt the same way she did. Perhaps her mother was right. Perhaps she should not have returned to Hogwarts this year if it was going to be like this. At least she was lucky. If it really did just get too bad, she could drop out. She had her O.W.L.'s. That would be enough for her to find a job. The others who had not taken the fifth year exams were less lucky. Lavender looked around at the first years. Most of them looked too nervous to eat. She could not blame them. They would have seven years to deal with this agony.

After the desserts finally cleared, Lavender noticed the talking had finally lessened. Students were standing, stretching, before they made their way to the common rooms. Gryffindor students were looking at each other, confused. Since there were no prefects, who had the password? Obviously none of them did. Who would take the first years back to the tower? Lavender groaned, then saw Professor McGonagall rush towards the table, an angry look upon her face. Trying to get past the tired students was proving difficult, but she finally reached the table. To Lavender's surprise, she walked right up to them, "The password is 'Cornish Pixies.' Will you please take the first years to the tower?" Not that Lavender would ever say no to the Transfiguration professor, but at that moment, Lavender definitely could not. She looked so tired and so angry that Lavender just had to help.

Nudging Parvati, the two girls stood, "First years over here!" A few Hufflepuffs left their group to join the Gryffindors. Lavender noticed and gave them a bewildered look, "Get back to your group! I don't know where your common room is." The three students looked at each other and raced to join the rest of the Hufflepuffs before they were lost. Lavender rolled her eyes, "First year _Gryffindors_ over here." As the 11 year olds gathered around her, Parvati ran to tell a few of the older Gryffindors the password so they would not have to wait.

When Parvati returned, Lavender looked at the first years. They looked so lost and helpless. They were also all staring at her, which was extremely intimidating. Since she wanted to get back to her dorm quick as possible, she began, "Right. We're going to the common room. Don't get lost because you don't know how to send sparks yet. If you do get lost, shout a lot and hopefully someone will find you. If it's Peeves, run in the opposite direction." Unfortunately, this only seemed the worry the first years more. Shrugging her shoulders, she and Parvati made their way toward the tower.

"Now, uh, go to your dorms. Your stuff is up there. Classes begin tomorrow so get some sleep. Boys, your dorms are up that staircase," she pointed for a moment, then pointed at the other staircase, "And that's for girls. Boys, don't go up the girls' staircase. We'll know if you do." Lavender did not bother to elaborate because she hoped some stupid, horny boy would try it. It was fun to watch the reaction. When the first years still did not move, she waved her fingers, looking like she was trying to shoo a cat away, "Go to your dorms." She repeated. Finally, the first years looked at themselves and slowly ascended the stairs.

Parvati sighed, "Dunno about you, but I'm glad I'm not a prefect." Lavender nodded and the two followed the girls up the staircase. They found their dorm, which was labelled 'Seventh years' and smiled. Lavender excitedly said, "So this is it? One more year and we're finally done with this place."

Nodding slowly, as though she was not as sure of her excitement, Parvati replied, "Yeah. Doesn't look like it's going to be easy though. I can't believe those stupid rules."

Lavender agreed, "I know! 7 o'clock curfew. What are we supposed to do from then until bed?"

As she gathered her bathroom supplies, Parvati shrugged, "Homework?"

Lavender sighed, "Yeah, I guess. Well, I'm going to get ready for bed. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, I'm sure." She had not seen her schedule yet, but she was sure it involved a Carrow at some point. That was just how her luck went, "Night, Pav."

"Night, Lav," Parvati called back.

**Author's Note:** End chapter two! Hope this wasn't too dull for you. Don't worry, it'll pick up in the next chapter when classes start. Keep the reviews coming and feel free to pile them with questions, comments or suggestions. Thanks!


	3. Classes and Carrows

**Author's Notes:** Thanks again to all of my reviewers: StarWars-Freak, Blue Leah, hondagirl, sephora85, and lionesseyes13. You guys are awesome and I cannot thank you enough! Sorry this chapter took a little bit longer than I expected. I have been really busy lately. I must say though, reviews definitely make me squeeze in time! :)

**xxx**

Of Grims and Open Hands

**Classes and Carrows**

Right after evil people, bad dressers and people who called her dumb, waking up early was at the top of her list of annoyances for Parvati. When the barely audible alarm clock started ringing, she turned slightly in her bed, covering her head with her pillow. For thirty seconds, this muted the sound of clock. Too soon, her alarm clock started ringing louder and louder, which Parvati kept ignoring. Finally, her alarm clock flew from her bedside table and jumped repeatedly on her body. Knowing she had no other choice, Parvati raised slowly from her bed, before smacking the alarm clock with her pillow.

"I hate that thing," Parvati told Lavender, who was also awoken by the alarm clock. Usually, Parvati leaped from her bed the moment her alarm clock began to ring. She needed two hours of primping before she could look acceptable to eat breakfast in the Great Hall. Each year was a new chance to meet some cute boy who could be her new boyfriend. She did not mean transfer students, because they never came to Hogwarts, nor the new first years, because she was not a pedophile, but summer holiday was a long time for the boys she had always known to finally become men. It had happened to Dean last year, after all. Instead of being lanky and tall, his muscles became more formed and Parvati nearly drooled at the sight of him.

Yet now was not the time to dwell on the past. Pushing her comforter away from her body, Parvati placed her feet into her fuzzy pink slippers that were waiting at precisely the right spot. She stood from her bed, stretching so that her pyjama top revealed her smooth, chocolate stomach. Like always, she began her day with several exercises, which she read stimulate mind and health. She touched her toes, turned her upper body left and right, and stretched her arms. Blinking furiously, she at least felt more awake, but not yet ready to face the day ahead of her.

Parvati looked sadly at the spot where Hermione's bed should have laid, with her sleeping body wrapped tightly in the comforter. Parvati and Lavender's morning habits were ruined. First they would get ready, and finally, Hermione would crawl out of bed last minute, too tired from her late night rendezvous from the night before. Now there were only two girls who had to fight for the showers. It just wasn't the same. She wondered if she would wake every day, wondering where the girl who had annoyed her so many times was at. As she prepared for her shower, she tried to remember her other friends' lineage. How many others had not returned to school this year? After all of the hassle yesterday, Parvati assumed she would realize it today at breakfast.

**xxx**

Parvati and Lavender walked to the Great Hall together. The two liked to arrive early to acquire the best seats at the table and also to watch everyone enter. Much gossip could be gathered by who walked with whom and how. For instance, Parvati realized her sister, Padma, had a crush on Hufflepuff seventh year, Ernie, by the way she ignored her chatting friends to stare at his back while he strutted toward his table. Parvati vowed to Lavender she would make the two date, yet so far, she had not the time or the willpower.

Today as they made their predictions for future couples, Parvati watched the Muggle Studies professor and the Defense Against the Dark Arts (Dark Arts professor, she reminded herself) professor stride toward the professor table, both cackling about something. Parvati nudged Lavender and they both watched the professors sit on either side of Professor Snape (Headmaster Snape, again she reminded herself). Professor McGonagall was glaring at the three of them, yet none of them seemed to notice.

As Parvati ate her breakfast, the Great Hall began to fill with more students, most of whom looked equally as unhappy about classes beginning again. She was just about to start her toast when Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared on Parvati's side. The surprise almost made her choke on her toast.

"Miss Patil, you and I contacted over the summer about your classes. Were you still interested in those same classes, plus Muggle Studies?" Professor McGonagall's mouth pursed, making her look like she swallowed a lemon. It seemed she was not happy about the new mandatory classes.

Not wanting to be on the wrong side of Professor McGonagall's temper, Parvati quickly replied, "Yes, professor." Parvati was sure that she saw the look of pride across the older woman's face for just a moment before it was replaced with her usual stoicism.

"Well," Professor McGonagall began, "Here's your schedule then." She pointed her wand at the blank schedule which suddenly replaced itself with classes that would take up all of Parvati's free time. While Parvati looked at her new classes, Professor McGonagall moved on to Lavender's schedule. She could just hear the other woman's annoyance at Lavender's lack of classes.

Her smile was quickly erased when she saw her first class on Tuesday.

"Oooh, break first. Let's go back to the common room," said Lavender, not taking notice to Parvati's look of horror.

"I have Potions first," Parvati said.

While neither would say it, the Potions class would be their first class they did not have together. The two were mature enough that they could survive not being in the same class, but it would just be odd. Who would Parvati talk to when the class became boring?

"Well, I guess we should go back to the common room then," Lavender said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I have to get my stuff." It was going to be a long day.

**xxx**

Parvati had arrived early to class, dreading every step she had to take. She knew that everyone in the class was going to laugh at her for being behind in Potions. They probably would not have the class to say anything to her face though. This was such a bad idea.

As she entered the classroom, she noticed Professor Slughorn wasn't there. She sighed. The only reason she was not still back in the common room, complaining to Lavender was so she could talk about her arrangements to the professor.

Unfortunately, she was not completely alone.

Sitting in a seat unpacking her writing supplies was Ginny Weasley. Parvati groaned loudly. She had not imagined She-Weasley would be in her class. Never had the girls liked each other, but the detest grew after Lavender and Ron dated last year. For some reason, the girl thought Lavender was beneath Ron. Well, maybe she was during some of their more intimate moments, Parvati remembered. They _were _a bit more public than they should have been.

When Ginny heard the groan she looked at Parvati, raising her eyebrows, "This is Potions."

"Thanks," Parvati sarcastically responded, taking a seat in the back, as far away from Ginny as she could get.

"For sixth years," Ginny continued, obviously thinking Parvati was an idiot and did not know that.

Parvati rolled her eyes, "At least I know you're not Confunded." If Parvati could though, she would fix that. It would do the red head good to wander around the castle, not knowing who she was or why she was there. Perhaps she would wander away and never return. Parvati could only hope.

Luckily, Ginny was stopped from further responding by other arriving students. When everyone was settled, Parvati sat next to a Gryffindor boy, Ritchie Coote. As she could remember, he was on the Quidditch team previously. On his other side was a Hufflepuff girl, whom Parvati did not know. She really wanted to give the girl a makeover though. Those were horrible glasses...

Professor Slughorn was the last to arrive. Parvati had only seen him at the house table and never up close, so she took the first few minutes to get a good look at him. He really needed a diet. And a hair stylist.

When he began to speak, Parvati stopped evaluating him and paid attention. He looked at all of the students, winking at Parvati, who hoped no one got the wrong idea. What if (ew!) they thought she was here because she was providing services for him?

"Now then, I've prepared a few potions for you to look at today. These are the sort of thing you ought to be able to make after you've finished your N.E.W.T.s. You should have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet. Can anyone tell me what this one is?" Professor Slughorn indicated the cauldron closest to Ginny. Immediately, she raised her hand. Parvati suppressed a groan. It was like being in class with Hermione all over again.

Batting her eyelashes, Ginny replied, "Amortentia! The most powerful love potion in the world."

Parvati could not help herself. She started laughing, quickly turning it into a cough. What a surprise that she who went through boyfriends faster than knickers could easily identify the love potion. Ginny looked over at Parvati, glaring madly. Parvati just looked back innocently, faking a cough once more.

Professor Slughorn looked at them both, then shrugged, "Quite right, Miss Weasley. This potion can be identified by the mother-of-pearl sheen, the steam rising in characteristic spirals and the smell, which changes to fit the person whom is smelling it, to whatever attracts them most." Moving to the cauldron near Parvati, he asked, "And who can identify this one?"

Parvati looked in the cauldron, not having done earlier. It looked like just boiling water, but Parvati knew otherwise. Surprised, she realized she could identify it. She raised her hand, shocked that what she had studied had actually helped. When Professor Slughorn called on her, she replied, "It's Veritaserum. It's a really strong truth potion."

"Right, right, Miss Patil!" Professor Slughorn said proudly, "You can tell by the colorless, odorless appearance. It can be mistaken for water, but you would not want to take this potion, no siree." He smiled brightly, moving to the cauldron in front of her, "And this one?" He looked back and forth between Parvati and Ginny.

Ginny raised her hand before Parvati could remember what the potion was. She knew she saw it in her textbook though. Who could forget that disgusting colour?

"It's Polyjuice Potion. It transfigures the drinker to the exact clone of the person that it was made with, most commonly hair," Ginny replied smugly. Parvati could feel Ginny's eyes on her, but she refused to look over. She probably only knew that because she made some. Parvati did not want to know who she turned into or why she wanted to. It would probably cause nightmares."

Professor Slughorn nodded enthusiastically, "Correct again, Miss Weasley! Now let's get to work. We have a lot to cover today."

A Slytherin boy rudely interjected, "What about this one?" He pointed to the potion on Slughorn's desk. It was gold and drops of it kept leaping around the potion. Parvati could identify it, but she was shocked at its presence.

"Oho, my boy. You are quite right. This is Felix Felicis. Can anyone identify what it does?"

Parvati raised her hand, gazing longingly at the potion, "It makes you lucky." Boy, could she use that for her N.E.W.T.s. Oh, sure, it was completely illegal to take for tests, but she could still dream. She realized she actually had been daydreaming about taking the potion and Professor Slughorn was actually talking.

"And that is the prize for today's lesson. One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis," Professor Slughorn brought a glass bottle with a cork out of his pocket, showing them all, "Enough for twelve hours' worth of luck. Now, be warned. This potion is banned in organized competitions. That means sporting events, examinations and elections. So the winner can only use it on an ordinary day. And watch how that ordinary day becomes extraordinary!"

Professor Slughorn began issuing directions to start working on Draught of Living Death. As soon as he mentioned the page, Parvati quickly opened her book, and gathered her supplies around her, just as the other students were doing. She _had _to win. It was not because she wanted the prize of the potion, although that was certainly a nice touch, but she just wanted to beat Ginny. There was no way she would let her win.

**xxx**

Parvati could not remember the last time she wanted to hit her head against a desk. Her potion was not the pale pink like it was supposed to be. It was more of a lilac color. She groaned. All of her hard work and she still could not do the stupid potion. Hers did seem a bit better than a few other people's potions though. One Slytherin had an orange potion. How in Merlin's name had he done that?

"And time is up!" Professor Slughorn called loudly, "Please stop stirring!" He then began to walk around the cauldrons, not saying a word. He would occasionally sniff or stir the potion. Parvati crossed her fingers as he walked by. The potions professor looked into her cauldron and nodded approvingly at her. She sighed with relief. She had won.

Professor Slughorn stood in front of the room again, "Well, well, well. We have had some great potions today. Nothing was perfect, but, of course, I did not expect that. The clear winner, however, is," He paused, obviously wanting to add dramatic effect before finally replying, "Miss Weasley!"

Parvati swore loudly. She quickly gathered her supplies, wanting to leave the room as soon as she could. She was almost out the door when she remembered she had to talk with her professor.

"Ah, Miss Patil," Professor Slughorn said when he noticed she was still there, "You wanted to set up a schedule to make up missed potions?" Parvati nodded and he continued, "Well, how about Monday and Thursday nights, at around eight?"

Trying to see if it conflicted with her schedule, Parvati remembered the new rules, "But professor, curfew is seven."

Professor Slughorn patted her on the shoulder, "Oh, pish posh. This is academics. I'll just give you a note saying it's okay. Severus was a student of mine. And he was a Potions professor. He wouldn't mind at all." Parvati could tell those were his parting words, so she said a quick goodbye and left. Well, on the bright side, she would at least be out later than anyone else.

**xxx**

Parvati crawled back into the Gryffindor Common Room and looked longingly at the stairs leading to her dorm. Yet she had no time to sleep. She had time to return her Potions supplies to her room and exchange them for Muggle Studies. The only bright side of the day was that Lavender would be in her remaining classes. They had Muggle Studies next, then lunch, then Herbology and the rest of the day was theirs, which was not much because of their curfew.

She found Lavender sitting in their dorm, flipping through the latest issue of Witch Weekly. When Lavender noticed her presence, she quickly asked, "How was it? Is he as bad as Snape? Worse?"

"No, he's a lot better than Snape. He's really encouraging. But you'll never guess who's in my class."

"Who?"

"She-Weasley," Parvati replied, wishing she had never wanted to become a Healer. All she had done was successfully overload herself with way too many classes. Well, at least she and Lavender had taken Herbology last year to please McGonagall. She would not be able to tolerate having her best friend's ex-boyfriend's little sister in two of her classes, "C'mon, let's go to class. You know, this is going to be dreadful. That hag is just going to drone about how all muggles are scum." The two talked the entire way to the classroom, each predicting what the class would be like.

To Parvati's surprise, when she arrived in the classroom. There were a lot more chairs than their usually was. There had to be 30 at least. She was also surprised to see students of every house scattered throughout the room. Spotting her sister, she waved and walked over, Lavender trailing behind her.

Noticing Parvati's reaction to the mingling of students, Padma whispered, "Ernie told me that the classes are so large because she's too lazy to teach so many classes, so she just shoves us all together. Can you imagine? A class all about muggles, which you know is going to be corrupt, filled with Slytherins and people like us." Parvati figured she meant members of Dumbledore's Army, but could not ask because at that moment, Professor Carrow entered the classroom.

Parvati could not believe there could be someone so ugly. She looked the result of way too much pureblood inbreeding. Her parents were probably cousins, as were their parents, and so on and so forth. Being a pureblood was so not worth having to look presentable, if not beautiful.

Professor Carrow stared at her clock, obviously waiting for the class to officially begin. As she waited, more students from her year trailed in. A few minutes before class started, all of the seats were full, with some Hufflepuffs looking around desperately for a seat. Two minutes before class began and Professor Carrow magically locked the door.

"Now!" The woman barked, making half of the class jump in fear, "We're going to start with a little test. Once you're done, get the hell out of my class." She pointed her wand at the papers sitting on her desk, levitating them, before shooting a paper out to each student, "As you may have noticed, we're short a few seats, so I recommend those who want to sit get here earlier." To Parvati's surprise, she laughed cruelly. She just wanted to finish the test and get out before something horrible happened.

When Parvati received her test, she stared in horror at the questions. These were obviously set up to find out the loyalty of students. She could either answer how she honestly felt or lie. There had to be a reason her and her brother were in charge of punishments. Parvati decided for a happy medium. She did not want to find out how they punished students just yet.

Parvati looked at the first question which read _What is a mudblood?_ and wondered what to write. She could say _A muggleborn is..._, but then that could get her in trouble. Then she remembered that Professor Carrow never asked for essay answers and just wrote _A person with no magical parents._ There. That wasn't so hard. For most of the questions, she wrote neutral answers, such as with _How do mudbloods steal their powers?_, Parvati wrote _I don't know_. There were other questions such as _If there was a wizard you hated and a muggle that was a stranger dying and you can only save one, which would you save?_ Parvati had to put the logical answer _I'd save the muggle because the wizard should have means to help himself._ Another answer that would probably get her in trouble was _If a muggle tried stampeding you, what would you do?_ Parvati answered _Why would a muggle do that, unless she wanted my good looking clothes or makeup tips?_

Needless to say, when Parvati finally finished, she was glad the test was over. She looked at Lavender, who seemed to be waiting for her to finish. The two took their papers up together and placed them on the forming pile on Professor Carrow's desk. She glared at the both of them, as if they were going to steal from her desk. Parvati and Lavender quickly left the classroom.

"Well," Lavender said cheerly, "Now we only have Herbology left. That class is never weird. Just gross." And the two walked to the Great Hall for lunch.

**xxx**

**Author's Notes: **Et fin! Oh man, that took forever to write. Hopefully the length is worth it. And hopefully because it's so long, I'll get more reviews. :) Huge thanks to Jade who kept pushing me to write this and helping me when it wasn't working the way I wanted it to. Sorry I didn't include the Herbology class, but this was really getting long, I'm really tired and nothing exciting was going to happen anyway. Some of you may notice that Slughorn's class is almost exactly the same as in HBP. Well, the reason is not because I'm uncreative, but I just think he would do the same thing over and over again. He just seems like that sort of professor. Next chapter: Defense Against the Dark Arts class! See how Alecto compares to her brother, Amycus. :)


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